


Captive Audience

by shinysylver



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux Lives, Ben Solo Lives, Force Ghost Leia Organa, Healing, M/M, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Pre-Slash, Starting Over, The Force
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:20:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23075395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinysylver/pseuds/shinysylver
Summary: A nagging sense of unfinished business leads Ben Solo to visit an injured Hux in his jail cell on Ajan Kloss.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 19
Kudos: 117
Collections: write to my heart





	Captive Audience

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Write to My Heart shiritori community. I had to start this fic with "What are you doing here?"
> 
> Thanks to shadynaiad for alpha reading.

"What are you doing here?" Hux asked, his voice weak but no less caustic for it. 

Ben wasn't really sure why he was here. They'd spent so many years together, whether they'd wanted to or not, and there was a nagging sense of unfinished business weighing on him. 

He stepped closer to the bars and looked in at Hux. He was heavily bandaged and seemed somehow smaller than Ben remembered him. He'd never had a high opinion of Hux, but seeing him so… diminished felt wrong.

"Nothing to say?" Hux asked with a bitter laugh. Ben could feel his pain clearly in the Force as the laughter stressed his broken ribs, but the only outward sign was a slight tightening of Hux's forehead. He always had been so good at hiding his pain.

Ben frowned at him. "You need a bacta tank."

Hux snorted. "You think the Resistance is going to waste their limited bacta supplies on me?"

"You helped them," Ben pointed out.

"That's why I'm still alive in this cell instead of halfway to New Hosnia for a show trial." Hux rubbed tiredly at his face, what little fight he'd shown seemed to drain out of him all at once. "Not all of us are as well connected as you. We can't all rely on our parents' legacy to save us."

Ben knew that he'd been lucky to walk free and that a large part of that was out of respect for his mother. But it wasn't the only reason. "They're terrified of me. If they could imprison me they would."

To prove his point he waved his hand and the locking mechanism released with a loud click. The door swung open with a groan. 

"Show off," Hux muttered.

Ben entered the cell and tried not to take it personally when Hux scooted back against the wall, trying to get as far away from him as he could. After all, Hux had every reason to fear him. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"That's all you've ever done." Hux spoke so quietly that Ben didn't think he was supposed to hear it. 

Ben crouched down next to him and reached out. Hux flinched, but didn't try to move away. 

Ben laid his hand gently on Hux's sternum and channeled his own life force through it. He'd only done this once before and it had nearly killed him, but Hux's injuries were not as severe as Rey's had been. 

"What are you doing?" Hux asked, his voice taut with barely contained fear. 

"Trying to help you for once," Ben answered. "Please let me."

Hux fell quiet although his anxiety was still thick in the air. Ben closed his eyes and tried to focus on Hux's injuries. It had been easy to heal Rey, his affection for her in that moment had made the sacrifice easy. Trying to heal Hux was much more difficult. 

_"You have to mean it,"_ his mother's voice whispered in his ear. 

Ben opened his eyes and saw his mother standing next to him. Her form was insubstantial enough that he could see the wall through her, but her presence was solid in the Force.

Leia smiled at him, patient and gentle. _"Focus on his life force, not his injuries."_

Ben nodded and closed his eyes again. He let his mind drift downwards until he could feel Hux all around him. When he'd healed Rey she'd only had the slightest spark of life still lingering, but Hux's life was burning strong and steady. 

Hux's injuries would eventually heal on their own, but after everything Ben had done to him over the years he felt he owed him this. 

_"That's it,"_ Leia whispered. _"You have to care about him in order for it to work."_

Ben wasn't sure that he cared about anyone, not the way he should, but he did his best to focus on Hux's good qualities. He'd never allowed himself to think of them before, but the man's determination was admirable. He'd never broken no matter how hard Ben had tried to make him. 

Now that the veil of Darkness had been lifted from his soul, he was ashamed of the things he'd done to Hux. They'd been allies of a sort and he'd still treated him despicably. 

"I'm sorry," Ben murmured, sending his own life force into Hux and stoking the fire at his core higher. "For the hurt I've caused."

Hux gasped, but Ben ignored him, continuing to channel his energy into Hux. He could feel the bones mend and flesh knit back together. 

A gentle warmth brushed his cheek. _"That's enough."_

Ben severed the flow of energy at Leia's command and sat back against the wall. He was a bit dizzy, but nowhere near as drained as last time. 

Leia smiled at him and flickered out of existence. He wished he'd had a chance to talk to her more, but he knew he'd see her again. 

"What did you do?" Hux was taking deep breaths and pressing experimentally at his side. 

"I healed you," Ben said. "Without wasting any bacta."

Hux narrowed his eyes at him. "I still hate you."

"I know." Ben grinned at Hux, amused at the wave of suspicion that it provoked. "But you'll come around eventually."

"No I won't," Hux snapped. "Don't you have anything better to do than harass me?"

Ben shrugged. "Not really. None of them want anything to do with me."

"Neither do I."

Ben stood up and exited the cell, locking it behind him. "Maybe not. But you're a captive audience. I'll bring you some tea later. I doubt they've bothered."

Hux crossed his arms. "If I have to put up with your nonsense it better be taurine tea. And not the cheap stuff."

"Done."

It would take a while, but there was a real chance Hux would warm up to him eventually. All Ben had to do was find high quality tea on an isolated military base. Simple. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are much appreciated.
> 
> You can find my social media information in my profile. :D


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